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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22892563">The Harpy Postwoman</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoisonousTouch/pseuds/PoisonousTouch'>PoisonousTouch</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Griffin - Freeform, Harpy, Mail Delivery, Rain, Revolver - Freeform, floating islands, forest</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:33:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,431</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22892563</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoisonousTouch/pseuds/PoisonousTouch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Even though telecommunication is a thing, most settlements of the sky islands don't really use it, and tend to rely on the harpies to deliver their mail to other villages.</p><p>Flore is one of those postwomen, and is going to have some delays in her deliveries because of the rain.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Harpy Postwoman</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Rain had been falling for the last couple of hours. A rare sight for the inhabitants of the isles above the sea of clouds. The weather was windy most of the time, even though a few rare clouds could form in the sky around, such an event was far from common. Be it natural or the doing of a distant, mysterious engine from the Old World, few really knew what caused these rains.</p><p>    However, Flore didn't care much as to what could cause rain to fall on the floating islands. She was sitting on the ground of an hollow clod under a tree, observing the rain and waiting for it to stop. It rained too hard to keep flying, and it was too risky for the young woman to try and navigate through this. Her deliveries would have to wait a little bit...</p><p>    Flore was a harpy, with thick shoulder-length orange hair and blue eyes. A young woman with feathery wings on her back and the talons of a bird instead of feet. The only intelligent race of the sky that could go from island to island easily, thanks to their ability to fly. Harpies were a reclusive kind, most of them being lone wanderers, traveling merchants or postwomen.</p><p>    And Flore was the latter. Even though the technology of the isles allowed for telecommunication, very few settlements actually used it. Either not wanting to waste precious resources on a communication console or not seeing the point of using those in the first place, with how far away the few villages of the sky were. Thus, the people who wanted to send messages to other places called upon the harpies to deliver their mail.</p><p>    The humans of the region always loved to see Flore's arrival, in the hopes of seeing a letter or a parcel for them. A joy Flore shared, happy to see friendly faces wherever she went. But for now, she wasn't going anywhere thanks to the rain.</p><p>    </p><p>    At least, her shelter was somewhat cozy. The clod was tall enough for her to stand up, and the roots of the tree above intertwined with the dirt walls to give her numerous spots on which to hang her belongings. Her cap, her bag and the holster of her revolver were all hanging on the roots.</p><p>    Flore would also have taken off her blue cotton coat, but since she was only wearing a white button-up shirt and a grey skirt with suspenders underneath, she opted not to. It was too cold and staying warm was one of her only preoccupations, at the moment.</p><p>    As annoying as the weather was, the harpy woman couldn't deny that the sound of water dropping on the ground and the occasional flashes of light from the distant thunder were quite calming. Flore sniffed the humid air, taking in the sweet smell of the forest. Quite a unique, strong scent of nature.</p><p>    But it wouldn't get her deliveries done. The harpy sighed and got up to stretch a bit. First, her arms and legs, then her wings. She turned to the inside of the clod, and walked to her delivery bag, wanting to check who she'd have to visit next.</p><p>    The young woman took a few letters out of her bag. Feeling a bit hungry, Flore also grabbed her last meat jerky before sitting next to the « entrance » of her shelter again. The harpy took a bite out of her food, and started looking at the names written on the letters.</p><p>    Lucas Firdwell... Melody Gretken... Vince Ludaa... It was always quite pleasant to look at who she had to visit, each name reminding Flore of some memory she had meeting with the humans. A smile appeared on Flore's face, as she chewed on the dried meat.</p><p>    Nothing forced the harpy to do what she did, really. She didn't get paid, and lived pretty much off what people were willing to give her. Food, ammo, shelter when she needed... And yet, the social aspect of being a postwoman was all worth it. Flore was a very social harpy, and always enjoyed seeing the people she made deliveries to again after a long time. She couldn't bring herself to stop and settle in one of the villages. She just liked that freedom she had, traveling while still being helpful to those she knew... To Flore, her life was perfect. And she wouldn't have it any other way.</p><p>    The harpy kept reading the names, until she found the name of Leopold Eldwin. It seemed the old farmer had a letter from his niece in Sunnystep. Leopold lived mostly alone in his farm, far from everyone else. Occasionally, some people came to his farm and worked for him on the fields, in exchange for food and shelter. Flore rethought about her trajectory for a second. She knew the farm was relatively close, and with the state of her food supplies, she would need to get more soon...</p><p>    Thinking about it, it was the best option available. Her next destination would be the Eldwin farm. Besides, Flore knew that the old Leopold had taken in a lost baby harpy. She was just adorable, and the postwoman just couldn't wait to see her again.</p><p>    </p><p>    More time passed, and the rain didn't seem to calm down. Flore regretted not to have anything to entertain herself in her bag, she knew she should have gotten one of those portable game devices when she had the opportunity... Now, with how little she earned from her deliveries, the harpy knew it wouldn't happen anytime soon. Having some of her favourite arcade games in her pocket would be nice, though...</p><p>    Oh well, thought the postwoman. It was getting dark outside, and if the rain wasn't going to stop, she should at least get some rest. Flore got up again, and took her revolver out of its holster to check on her ammo. Four bullets left... Not great. She would have to avoid getting in trouble. Here's hoping the old Leopold would also have a few bullets to spare...</p><p>    Flore rolled the cylinder of her six-shooter before closing it back up and put it back into place. Then, she took her bag and put it on the ground to use as a pillow. The harpy sat down, took her coat off and put it on her as an improvised blanket. Hopefully, the rain would have stopped in the morning...</p><p>    She closed her eyes and listened to the lullaby of the rain dropping outside, as she slowly fell asleep.</p><p>    </p><p>    During the night, the rain slowly began to stop, and when the first rays of the sun showed up, the sky was almost completely clear again. Flore wouldn't wake up before morning, when the light outside forced her to get up. An uncomfortable night, but the harpy was used to those. She just needed to stretch correctly in the morning.</p><p>    And now that the rain had stopped, it was time to go. Flore put her holster on, then her coat and cap. She grabbed her delivery bag and put it back on her shoulder. Before long, the harpy was back on her track.</p><p>    First, she needed to get out of the forest. The trees and plants were still soaking wet from the night before, and the smell of wet dirt was always quite strong after such an heavy rain. Not that Flore would complain, as she liked that scent quite a bit.</p><p>    Soon enough, the harpy arrived at the edge of the forest, facing the immensity of the blue skies once again. She stopped for a minute, enjoying the view of the islands. The landscape was far prettier when the sky was clear, and the prospect of arriving to her destination soon coupled to the view was enough to put Flore in the best of moods to keep on her journey.</p><p>    The harpy spread her wings, ready to fly away. But before she could go, her attention was drawn by the sound of a shriek she recognized. The scream of a griffin, flying somewhere among the islands. Flore didn't expect to hear one around here, especially at this time of year. It seemed relatively close. Worried, the postwoman looked around her, trying to see where the creature could be. If it was nearby, flying now would be dangerous.</p><p>    But she couldn't see it. The griffin had made a few more shrieks, confirming it was close. Flore started feeling anxious, going back to the forest to try and hide from the creature, hoping it hadn't seen her before she did. If it had, Flore wouldn't be able to run away that easily... But the harpy realized it was too late when she heard something above her. Something massive that was going to land on...</p><p>    </p><p>    Flore jumped and flew a few meters back, as a creature landed where she previously was. A mighty beast with the body of a lion, the head and the talons of an eagle and big, feathery wings. A griffin, one of the fiercest predators of the sky. It seemed hungry, and must have been looking for a prey. And the creature found exactly what it wanted.</p><p>    It took the harpy a second to snap out of her stupefaction. Of course, she had to be attacked by one of the worst things possible at this exact moment ! Flore reached for her holster and grabbed her six-shooter. She pointed it at the monster, as it leaped toward her. Four ammo left, her shot needed to be perfect. She pulled the trigger and...</p><p>    « Click ». The hammer fell on an empty chamber. Baffled, Flore needed to react quickly if she didn't want the griffin on her. Instinctively, she flew upward, realizing what happened. She didn't see on which chamber her cylinder stopped last evening, and it came back to bite her. How could she have been so careless ?</p><p>    The griffin didn't wait for her to take a second shot. Having missed its target, the monster flew up behind Flore. The harpy started fleeing. There was no way she could take this creature at close range.</p><p>    After taking some altitude, Flore knew she would need to be cunning if she wanted to get rid of the griffin on her tail. It was already quite close, and turning back to shoot would probably spell her doom. She couldn't outfly it either. She needed to be agile.</p><p>    Flore suddenly flew down without warning. The maneuver surprised the griffin, who tried to claw its prey and missed. But the monster knew it was faster than her and charged right behind the postwoman. It wouldn't let her escape that easily.</p><p>    </p><p>    Staying as calm as she could, Flore knew she had to do more acrobatics maneuvers, making an 90° turn to the side to avoid death. Unfortunately, the griffin seemed to anticipate the movement this time and managed to gain some ground on the harpy. One hit and she would plummet without a doubt. To avoid the claws, Flore started making aileron rolls on her left, then on her right, trying to stay unpredictable.</p><p>    But the griffin sent a chill up her spine, when the postwoman felt its beak close enough to bite on her talon. Only listening to her instinct, Flore got her feet away from the monster. And realizing the position she was in, had the perfect opportunity to strike back and get the monster off her. With a swift movement of her talons, the harpy slashed the griffin in the head, snatching a shriek of pain from the predator and forcing it to slow down.</p><p>    « -Yes ! » screamed Flore, emboldened by this small victory. She flew backward for a second, watching as she put some distance between her and the monster, not noticing how close she was flying to the trees. And suddenly hit a treacherous branch, higher than the others, distabilizing her.</p><p>    Flore barreled down through the trees, and started panicking as she painfully fell down to the ground. The wet dirt barely did anything to break the harpy's fall, but at least she was alive. She started to get up, her forced landing hurt like hell... But at least, she didn't break anything... Hopefully. But no time for pain, the griffin was gonna catch up to her if she didn't hurry.</p><p>    It was too late when the harpy got up, however. The griffin had landed too, a few meters away from her. Hungry, and enraged at the hit Flore gave it. The postwoman looked back at the monster. She couldn't run away anymore. And it was terrifying.</p><p>    </p><p>    The griffin started moving toward her, gaining some momentum. Flore tightened her hand around the handle of her gun. The griffin began running, planning on taking down the harpy by pouncing on her. Flore lifted her hand, aiming her barrel to the creature's head and hoping she wouldn't hit another empty chamber. It was all or nothing.</p><p>    The griffin jumped. Flore pulled the trigger.</p><p>    Accompanied by a relieving noise, a bullet came out of the postwoman's weapon and hit the monster right in the beak, breaking a part of it and stopping the predator dead in its track.</p><p>    The griffin shrieked in pain, coiling back as it spread its wings. Flore fell back down to the ground from the air movement, and watched as the creature flew away from her. It seemed she wasn't worth such a loss for a meal...</p><p>    </p><p>    The harpy sighed of relief. Close encounter with Death... Closer than she liked. She was supposed to be more careful than this... Flore usually knew what she was doing. And yet, here she could have prevented the situation if she hadn't been so confident. She shouldn't have rolled her cylinder before bed, especially with only four shots left. She shouldn't have celebrated before she was sure the griffin had left her alone.</p><p>    As to punish her for her carelessness, Flore winced as the pain from her fall came back. She had almost forgotten about it, with how nerve-wracking that encounter ended. Guess she'd have to wait for a little bit before going again...</p><p>    Flore got up and got the mud off her coat and body. As much as she liked the smell of wet dirt, she didn't like it as much on her. She then looked around for a place to rest for a few minutes, and found a tree stump on which she could sit for a while. She was certain to see bruises appear on her skin sooner than later...</p><p>    Maybe she'd stay at the Eldwin farm for a few days, when she'd get there...</p>
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